KF Cargo

KF Cargo
Founded	March 20, 1970
AOC #	Canada:; KF Cargo: 884; Kelowna Flightcraft: 14657; United States: UKFF210F
Hubs	Kelowna International Airport; Vancouver International Airport;
Fleet size	10
Destinations	5
Parent company	Barry Lapointe Holdings Ltd.
Headquarters	Kelowna, British Columbia
Website	www.kfaero.ca/flight-ops/kf-cargo/

Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter trading as KF Cargo and Kelowna Flightcraft trading as KF Maintenance and Engineering is a cargo airline based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. It operates long term cargo charters for couriers and freight companies, forest fire patrols, and aircraft sales and leasing in Canada and worldwide. It also provides maintenance and aircraft manufacturing services.

History

KF Cargo is a subsidiary company of KF Aerospace, which was established as Kelowna Flightcraft on March 20, 1970, and the cargo subsidiary was established and started operating in June 1974. It is wholly owned by Barry Lapointe Holding.

Destinations

As of August 2024, KF Cargo operates air cargo services to the following destinations:^[6]

Fleet

Current fleet

As of August 2024, KF Cargo/KF Maintenance and Engineering has the following aircraft registered with Transport Canada.^[5]

Kelowna Flightcraft fleet
Aircraft	In service	Notes
Beechcraft A60	1	Operated by Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter
Beechcraft 390	1
Boeing 737-600	2
Cessna 172	1
Cessna 180 Skywagon	1
Convair CV-580	4
Total	10

Leasing

KF Cargo leases out Convairs, the CV-580 / CV-5800s.^[7] KF Cargo's leasing operations has the distinction of developing the world's first 300QC series of the Boeing 737 Classic.^[8]

The company has leased aircraft to several Canadian passenger airlines including Harmony Airways, Greyhound Air, Roots Air in the past and also in the United States to IFL Group Inc.^{[citation needed]} Currently, KF Cargo leases its Boeing 737-300QC to Canadian North.^[8]

Historical fleet

The airline previously operated a diverse range of aircraft including:^[9]

Accidents and incidents

On January 13, 1999, a Douglas DC-3 (C-GWUG) crashed into Mount Parke, Mayne Island while on a domestic cargo flight from Vancouver International Airport to Victoria International Airport. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots, the only occupants, were killed. Investigation revealed that the flight was being operated under visual flight rules at night, in contravention of Canadian Aviation Regulations.^[10]
On July 9, 1981, a Howard 500 (C-GKFN), operated by Kelowna Flightcraft for overnight freight operations, crashed shortly after takeoff from Toronto Pearson International Airport. Fatalities were three crew.^[11]
On September 7, 1976, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain (C-GKFC) was destroyed by fire after an emergency landing near Brocket, Alberta. All 26 people on board escaped. The aircraft was on a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight from Vernon Regional Airport, British Columbia to Lethbridge Airport, Alberta.^[12]

Bases

Pilot bases include Kelowna International Airport, John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, and Vancouver International Airport.

Primary maintenance bases include John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport and Kelowna International Airport with a satellite base at Vancouver International Airport.